GHS Head Coach Trey Holloway, his staff, and his Diamond ‘Dogs baseball team are off and running after a busy first week of play, despite dealing with several days of rainy weather as February transitioned to March. After dropping their season opener, the ‘Dogs have won four straight games.
After beginning their 2018 campaign with the inaugural First Pitch Classic, Greenwood traveled to Alma this past Tuesday afternoon. They will host Clarksville on Friday at 5 p.m. and Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on Saturday at noon.
The Bulldogs will then play at Farmington next Tuesday. Clarksville and Farmington are both league games in the blended 5A/6A-1 conference.
Preview
Holloway is now in his fourth year at the helm and his teams have been on the cusp of winning a state title since his first season on the job. The Diamond ‘Dogs were 27-6 last spring and have a combined record of 43-18 over the past two years, reaching the state semi-finals both seasons.
Holloway, a former Arkansas Razorbacks’ hurler, once again believes his team has all the needed ingredients to make another serious run at winning a state title, which would be its first since moving up to Class 6A and its fourth in school history (1966, 1999, 2006).
Greenwood has solid pitching, some power bats, and overall team experience. A tested group of returning veterans, led by senior starting pitcher Connor Noland and junior shortstop Peyton Holt, and a solid mix of underclassmen could mesh into a formidable unit by the end of the season.
But there are likely another 30 games to go before Greenwood hosts the 6A state tournament this coming May (10-12), including regular season and tournament contests. But Holloway and his staff are doing their best to keep their team focused on the process rather than the day-to-day results.
“We’re not worried about who we’re playing, the weather, or results,” said Holloway. “I know that sounds crazy. Every day we are committed to the process without being emotionally attached to the results.”
He further explained the way his players are approaching this season. “Whether [they] play every inning or not much, [they’re] coming to work every day to be [their] best. If we do that, I think we’ll be a good team,” said the coach.
“We expect to make a run to the state championship, but we have to take care of ourselves to get better, and for us, that starts from the first day of school [until] the day of the state championship game,” Holloway added.
“Expectations. We keep raising them up, and that has to do with our players. This is my fourth season, and this group of seniors were my first group. [We] have strong senior leadership, and that starts with Connor Noland,” said the coach.
The senior pitcher and infielder started at quarterback and led the gridiron Bulldogs to a state title last December. Noland has already signed to play football for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the fall, but also intends to play for the U of A baseball Hogs next spring.
The big righthander sports a fastball in the low 90s with command, and two good breaking balls, and will likely be the subject of much attention from big league scouts this spring. But Noland takes a lot of pride in setting a good example for his teammates to follow.
“If [other players] see Connor working hard, they’re going to work hard,” said Holloway. “Connor is a great leader. He does a phenomenal job on and off the field. But that’s our culture here. The guys who are the best are going to work just as hard as any guy.
Noland will primarily play third base when not pitching, and also bats cleanup, but his biggest impact will be as the team’s top starting pitcher and the #1 college and professional prospect in the state.
“On the mound he’s going to help us tremendously,” said his coach. “He’s already hit 92 this year, so we’ll have scouts and all sorts of different people at our games this year. There will be a little more hype, but he’s a pretty humble kid.”
Asked about Noland’s best qualities on the mound, Coach Holloway said, “Connor has unreal feel. Even at 24 or 25 years old I didn’t have the same feel that he has. He does a phenomenal job [locating the ball]. He’s got a good curveball and a great slider, and he can throw them in any count. He understands what I want and what I call, and he knows how to execute that plan.”
Besides Noland, Greenwood’s veteran roster of returning players includes seniors Ryan Daggs, Blake Pschier, Jake Smith, and Peyton Holt, one of the top juniors in the state.
Daggs and Pschier will round out Greenwood’s top three pitchers, while Smith is the returning starting catcher and Holt is the starting shortstop for the third straight season.
“I really feel good,” said Holloway of his pitching talent. “We’ve got depth on the mound. If we have to win three games in the state tournament I feel confident about those three guys’ [ability] to do it.”
“Offensively, I feel pretty good because we have our leadoff hitter back,” said Holloway. “Colton Sagely hit over .300 last year and stole 20-something bags and had 15 doubles for us.
“Having him in centerfield is going to be big for us, and having Peyton Holt back too. He bats in the three-hole for us and hit in the upper .300s and led us in just about every batting category.
“Hopefully, Peyton will be our rock offensively, driving [runners] in, and Connor is back in the four-hole. Then we’ve got Ryan Daggs, Blake Pschier, Isaac Schwartz, and Brandon Woolsey, some bigger guys who can also fill those four, five, and six spots,” said the coach.
“Then we have Jake Smith back behind the plate, and he will do a phenomenal job. We’ve also had a couple of freshmen like Landry Jurecka and Chance Eoff that are going to push to make it into the starting lineup.
“I’ve got about 15 guys that I have confidence in – that I know if I put them in they are going to do a great job. And guys that work hard every single day, like Jackson Webb and Cooper Passmore, two seniors that haven’t really played a whole lot in the past, are really going to have a big impact for us this year,” Holloway said.
As for the outfield, the fourth-year head coach has a wealth of players to choose from. “Colton [Sagely] is the only returning starter we have in the outfield. But the great thing is that we’ve got a lot of depth and some ninth graders that could help us too in the long run. If they are hitting, I’m going to put them in there,” he said.
The coach also talked about Greenwood hosting the 6A state tournament in May. “It’s going to be good for us, good for our community, and we’re hosting softball as well. I think it will be fun for our fans. Some of the best teams in the state are in 6A. There are going to be some good teams [here].”
The Bulldogs will also compete in the Coach Bob Invitational in Arizona over spring break in addition to loading up their non-conference schedule with Class 7A opponents Fort Smith Southside and Northside, Conway, Springdale, Springdale Har-Ber, and Van Buren. Greenwood will also play one more season in the blended 5A/6A-1 conference before moving on to the 6A state tournament.
So for GHS baseball fans, it should be another great season, possibly ending with a state title in May at Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas. It should be a fun spring on the diamond.